The Prevalence of Malaria and Bacteremia Co-Infections among Febrile Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Issued Date
2022-09-01
Resource Type
eISSN
24146366
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85138705052
Journal Title
Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
Volume
7
Issue
9
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease Vol.7 No.9 (2022)
Suggested Citation
Wilairatana P., Mala W., Masangkay F.R., Kotepui K.U., Kotepui M. The Prevalence of Malaria and Bacteremia Co-Infections among Febrile Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease Vol.7 No.9 (2022). doi:10.3390/tropicalmed7090243 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/84910
Title
The Prevalence of Malaria and Bacteremia Co-Infections among Febrile Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
Comprehensive data on the relative contribution of bacteremia to malaria outcomes in a large number of participants are lacking. Therefore, we collated data on the co-existence of malaria and bacteremia in the literature to provide evidence-based information for future studies investigating the clinical significance of this co-infection. The study protocol was registered at PROSPERO (ID: CRD42021287971). Relevant studies were identified from PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. The pooled prevalence of (1) co-existent malaria and bacteremia among febrile patients, (2) the pooled prevalence of bacteremia among patients with malaria, (3) the probability of co-infection, and (4) the pooled prevalence of deaths were estimated by the random-effects model. Fifty-one studies involving 1583 cases of co-infection were included in the analyses. Typhoidal Salmonella spp. and Staphylococcus aureus were the most common Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, respectively. The prevalence of co-existent malaria and bacteremia among febrile patients was 1.9% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.5–2.2%, I2 = 96.64%, 31 studies). The prevalence of bacteremia among patients with malaria was 7.6% (95% CI = 6.7–8.7%, and I2 = 96.68%, 43 studies). Co-infection by malaria and bacteremia did not occur by chance (p = 0.024, odds ratio = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.43–0.94, and I2 = 95.7%, 29 studies). The pooled prevalence of deaths among patients with co-infection was 15.0% (95% CI = 8.0–23.0%, I2 = 75.23%, 8 studies). On the basis of this study, we conclude that although the prevalence of co-infection was low, patients with malaria appear at greater risk of bacteremia and death.